The Department of Transportation and Health Impacts on the Consumers - Term Paper Example

FDA Health Regulation about sanitary transportation of human and Animal food Name: Institution’s name: Introduction Food is defined as “articles used for food or drink for man or other animals, chewing gum, and articles used for components of any such article” by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Safe food is a basic right and the main aim of food regulating bodies is to make sure that the food that ultimately reaches the consumers is safe for consumption. A few decades ago, concerns over food transportation emerged gradually. It was seen that there is potential for food to be contaminated and spoilt during transportation from one place to another and such contaminations may have detrimental impacts on the consumers. In 1994, an outbreak of disease was seen across states because of contamination during transportation of ice-cream. Before this in 1974, corn fodder meant for animals was contaminated with lead monoxide during transportation as well . Such instances shows that improper transportation has detrimental health impacts on the consumers (Prishable logistics,2011). In 1999, the congress enacted the SFTA. SFTA directed the department of Transportation to prescribe regulations against and protection of these food and food additives from harmful transportation of food and food additives. Followed by this the FDA also released the FSMA act according to which food facilities should have a plan to prevent food contamination, protect food from bioterrorism, recognize potential hazards and take steps to address the same and lastly monitor the entire procedure of food production and transportation and to correct anomalies if present as well. In 2013, the FDA also put its focus on transportation of food meant for animals including pet food and food meant for livestock or food-producing animals since following the 1974 occurrence when contaminated fodder led to disease outbreak among animals. The procedure followed by the facilities that manufacture such handle, handle and transport them is the same as those facilities producing food for human consumption. The most important thing that the FDA primarily concentrated is on not only the safe and hygienic transportation of food but also on its purity. Purity of food means that it is free from any kind of contamination and adulteration since both of these are harmful in nature. Often during food transportation inadequate facilities are provided and such ill-handled food is often found to be adulterated and through the regulation the FDA aims at mitigating food safety risks. Background of the regulation Safe transportation of human and animal food is of major concern for the FDA. The FDA reports consists of several instances when human and animal food had been contaminated while transportation from one place to another. There have been instances in the late 1980’s, when truck load of food was being transferred from the Midwest to the coasts but while returning it was loaded with garbage for filling of lands in the Midwest. The same trucks were again employed to transfer food without proper cleaning between the transporatations. Such instances of unhygienic transportation led to implementation of the Sanitary Food Transportation Act (SFTA) in 1990. Regulations were also introduced by the Department of Transportation (DOT) which discouraged using food trucks for garbage transportation. In 1974, contamination of animal food occurred which lead to death of some dogs. It was determined that the food contained corn gluten. This corn gluten was transferred in a vehicle which previously transferred lead monoxide. Dog food samples revealed that the food too had high amounts of lead monoxide contamination. In 1994 there was an outbreak of salmonellosis owing to food contamination and this led to passage and implementation of SFTA 2005 by the government with amendments added to the older version and these amendments included clauses for safe and hygienic transportation. The 2005 SFTA covered broader aspects of food transportation and prevention of potential contamination from non-food sources. During this time it was also seen that trucks carrying garbage for land filling were also used to carry meat and other food stuff without proper management of the trucks (FDA, 2010).Proper management in this case means ensuring categorization of trucks for different purposes and cleaning of trucks on a regular basis. Proper management was previously not taken care of since the government was neither involved nor concerned. In 2011, these rules were modified and designed to adapt with the new age food and transportation facilities. The modified rules were brought under the Food Safety Modernization Act according to which the criteria for safe transportation of both human and animal food are taken care of. These criteria mainly focused on the sanitary storage and hygienic transportation of food products. FDA AGENCY The Food and Drug Administration Agency is the prime agency that has been entrusted with the task of planning, regulating and implementing the regulation for human and animal food transportation. The FDA is the prime regulatory agency whose main aim is to deal with foods and drugs. It has an impact on food industries with regards to issues such as food production, labeling, food adulteration and misbranding. It is also concerned with inter-state and international transportation of food ranging from eggs, dairy products to cheese and wine in a sanitary manner. Federal Requirements in Acts. The Administrative procedure act (APA) is the act that governs the working of governmental agencies including their interaction with the general public. The APA is codified in 5 U.S.C. (p 551-559) and the working of the FDA is also regulated by this act as well owing to the redressability clause. This means that work proceedings of the FDA is very much dependent on their interaction with the general public since much of the agencies work success depends on the public in the sense that unless the general mass is receptive towards the proceedings it would be hard for the agencies to imply them Under the APA , FDA is responsible for rulemaking , designing, implementing and also prescribe laws or policies. 5 U.S.C (p601), includes the Regulatory Flexibility ACT, and this act also regulates the functioning of the governmental agencies from an economic perspective. The RFA requires governmental regulatory bodies to make an estimate of the impact that a certain rule or policy would have on small industries, entities and business organizations. This is important since large impacts might lead to business loss of these small scale ventures and not only affect their livelihood but also initiate agitation.The main aim of the RFA is to make sure that the regulatory bodies try their level best to reduce any significant impact that rulemaking would have on these industries or business organization and therefore adopt a regulatory approach which is least harmful as well. In the case of Food Transportation, the FDA’s aim is to make sure that the entire procedure does not have much negative impact on transportation agencies, food handling agencies etc all the while making sure that food is transported in under hygienic conditions.The rule does not cover any firm or ship receiver or carrier with an annula turnover of less than 500,000 dollars. (Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal food, 2014). Furthermore, Executive Order 13132-Federalism issued by the then president Clinton also regulates the working of agencies. The main aim of this E.O. is make sure that there is cooperation between state and local governments. According to this ruling the FDA needs to estimate the compliance cost of its policies on the state and the local government as well. STAKEHOLDERS Implementation and regulation of the rule of sanitary methodology of food transportation will be beneficial for the consumers no doubt. However several stakeholders are involved in this transportation process till the food actually reached the consumer level. Farmers however are not included in the stakeholder list since little is in their hands as far as transportation is concerned. However farmers using biotechnological application or those involved in organic farming are responsible for growing food free of bioterrorism substances.The stakeholders include shippers, carriers by road/rail and receivers and by the definition except these three there is no other person involved in safe transportation. These stakeholders are responsible for safe transportation of food throughout the states, in-between states and even from the U.S. to other countries. There exists a difference n the viewpoints if the stakeholders for and against implementation of this new regulation. The most severely affected stakeholder is that of the transportation sector since it becomes directly liable to the FDA government. Since the regulation’s primary concern is that of transportation the responsibility of the transport department in assuring that the food is handled, stored and transported from one place to another according to the norms. The healthcare stakeholder on the other hand is more biased towards transportation since its stakes are high in this particular regulation. Basically the healthcare industry is responsible for assuring food hygiene, safety and purity after which it is the responsibility of the packaging industry to assure that the food is kept within conditions which would stop or deter it from spoiling fast and thereby assure the consumers a healthy intake. COSTS INVOLVED The rule of SFTA applies to all facilities that manufacture whole food, canned food etc in other words all the facilities that are required to register under the FDA for food manufacture are covered by this. Registration requires filling up of appropriate forms and submission of the substantial documents to the agency. The rule covered almost 83,609 firms. The number also includes the firms responsible for carriage of food. From the date of implementation, the total first year cost is calculated to be about $141.9 million which comes to $1,784 per firm while the estimated total annual cost is $30.08 million where each firm has to pay $360 . Then again, costs of compliance is also present for industries and is infact a major concern for them.The FDA estimated that to follow the preventative controls, the compliance cost for industry would be around $701 million while $472 million is the annual costing. This cost indicate that the total costing involved is huge and runs into millions. Regulation and Impact on Different Industries The proper regulation, implementation and maintenance of the rule definitely has an an impact on different industries that act as stakeholders and are associated with the proper food handling and safe, hygienic food transportation. Impact on health care industry The prime objective of the health care industry is to provide assistance to people in need of care however one should remember that the entire health care industry stands on the fact that people are prone to disease outbreaks and it the sole responsibility of the healthcare department to provide facilities for tackling the problems. However the responsibility of testing food, drugs and inhibiting spread of food borne diseases is also a prime responsibility of the health and food department. Therefore with the implementation of the regulation the role of the healthcare industry will be extended as well. Firstly, the mere implementation of the regulation does not guarantee the total safety of the food products and there is a slight possibility of contamination hence there is a dire need for frequent and random checking for presence of food borne pathogens which is to be conducted by skilled technicians primarily and microbiologist engaged to prevent diseases spread. . Effect on Food packaging Industry Proper food packaging plays an important role in protecting the food from contamination while being handled or transported. In fact the entire concept of food sanitation is dependent on proper food packaging. Firstly, the FDA’s regulation would impact recordkeeping and record inspection. The industry will become liable to the FDA which may conduct random checks of packaging procedure and packaging material keeping at par with the requirement of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 according to which the entire details of food packaging needs to be recorded. Again, the regulation would also impact the proper transportation of the food where proper synthesis of food-contact materials, coatings and various articles used for handling of food would also be monitored (Keller & Heckman llp.2011). However the most important impact would be on recalling and detention of authority. Under the present regulation guidelines the FDA has the power to question packaging industries in case a food product is suspected to be adulterated and is a cause of public health concern. This means if packaged food is found to be adulterated or not packaged according to guidelines the authorities have the power to raise questions against the packaging management. To find out if the packaging industry is working according to the guidelines frequent audits needs to be conducted. Therefore, the policy for safe food transportation will increase the liabilities of the food packaging industry. Effect on transportation Industry The most important of all the industries that will be affected as a result of this food transportation regulation is none other than the transport industry itself. It does not matter whether the food is for animals or humans, whether it is partially prepared, raw or cooked, whether it is canned or boxed the transports industries including that of tankers cars, planes, ships and even trucks will become directly answerable to any problems faced during transportation of the food products. Firstly, the vehicles need to maintain the ambient temperature which will allow the food to be transported safely. In order to know this management should have information about each and every food product they are transporting. Therefore if a frozen food is being transported the industry needs to provide vehicles which would not allow it to thaw and ensure that it remains in its optimal temperature until it reached its destination. This can be done by utilization of refrigerators of refrigerated vehicles. Handling is the next important step. If the food is not handled properly i.e. according to the guidelines set by the FDA it will deemed as spoilt food therefore the transport industry needs to employ staff who will able to correctly handle the particular food and ensure that they are not being contamination while being handled. This requires the industries not only to employ a huge number of workers but also to ensure that each of them know, understand and follow the handling of the different foods. Such training at present is not provided and there are not enough skilled personnel for this. A food transported and handler should have sound knowledge about each product and conditions which would ensure hygienic and safe transfer of that food product. Since, many disease outbreaks have occurred owing to improper transportation or misuse of food transport vehicles, the spokes of regulation would affect this industry since they would have the extra burden of making sure that the transportation is done according to the law and all things are maintained. There are several instances where it was seen that food trucks while returning back, carried garbage and waste in them, and again transported food without sanitation. This means that the transport industry also needs to ensure that the vehicles being used for food and fodder transport would only indulge in food delivery and nothing else. The present regulations does provide guidelines that vehicles to be used for garbage must be different from those that are employed to transfer food. Another important concern of the FDA is regarding food handling while transferring the food from one vehicle to another since it is during this time that the food become more vulnerable to mishandling and spoilage. Thus, there needs to be workers skilled in such food handling and ensuring that the food is shifted properly. Since, cross-contamination is also an issue therefore the transportation industry also needs to keep in mind to ensure that raw produce, chemicals, cooked food etc needs to be stored separately such that there is no scope of one food product coming in contact with another and leading to contamination (Keener, 2003). Therefore, the transport industry needs toe make sure of proper communication during all stages of food transport, employ skilled workers who can handle food and train inspectors to help them inspect the food on a regular basis and become directly answerable to the FDA who in turn can inspect any food item. Impact on grain and food industry U.S.D.A (United States Department of Agriculture) has been entrusted with the responsibility to vigilantly monitor the transportation of food grains most importantly since these food products form a bulk of the staple food taken by both humans and alike.The role of the U.S.D.A primarily involves food grains that are grown while the role of FDA also involves packaged foods, meats, industrially processed products etc. According to the FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) the FDA may modify the requirements of handling any food grain intended for storage and transport according to its own will. Keeping in par with the transportation of packaged food grains meant for both humans and animals the FDA could conduct on-site audits, testing of the grains and also on the handling procedures. Impact and Effectiveness of the regulation The public has been open towards the new regulation of food transportation introduced by the FDA basically because it is concerned with the public health and well being. Alternatives to Regulation The FDA’s aim of implementation and regulation of safely transporting food and food products for both humans and animals has not yet been able to achieve maximum success owing to few loopholes in policymaking. These loopholes include clauses stakeholder have not been indicated, role of stakeholders have not been stated and other similar gaps in policy-making. At the moment there exists few alternatives to regulation and the first and foremost need is to ensure that food is protected from contamination and bio-terrorism since the entire process involves a number of stakeholders at each stage. Without proper regulation it would become difficult to implement vigilation on the different industries responsible for food purity, packaging, handling and transportation. Conclusion Food safety is an important issue of concern primarily because a large portion of the general population is largely dependent on it. The regulation introduced by the FDA is a well thought out policy which would help the agencies such as those involved in the process of transportation primarily the stakeholders, monitor the food at each stage right from production to consumption. It is true that the new regulation would be hard for some of the involved industries to follow and implement however, from a wider perspective about the regulation of food transportation, the sole way to ensure safe food handling the regulation needs to be implemented such that the concern over public health issue is reduced. In this way there would be a way to limit sudden food-borne disease outbreaks. REFERENCES Safe Food Transportation — Part I: Identifying the Problems.Perishable Logistics.2011.Retrived from http://perishablelogistics.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/safe-food-transportation/ FDA.Sanitary Transportation of Human and animal food. Federal register.2014. Retrived from https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/02/05/2014-02188/sanitary-transportation-of-human-and-animal-food#h-37. retrieved on 1-4.2014. FDA.Implementation of sanitary food transportation act of 2005. Federal Register.2010. Retreived from https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/04/30/2010-10078/implementation-of-sanitary-food-transportation-act-of-2005. on 2-4-2014. Keener,L. 2003. Transportation: The Squeaky Wheel of the Food Safety System. Food safety Magazine.October-November. Retrived from http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/octobernovember-2003/transportation-the-squeaky-wheel-of-the-food-safety-system/ on 1/4/2014. Keller & Heckman LLp.2011. Impact of New U.S. Food Safety Legislation on the Food Packaging Industry.Retrieved from http://www.khlaw.com/4278 on 31-3-2014. Read More